17th European Conference on Developmental Psychology (Braga, Portugal, September 8-12, 2015) © Medimond . S908C0642 201 I’m still learning. A web platform for the intervention in reading disabilities Ribeiro I. 1 , Viana F.L. 2 , Baptista A. 3 , Choupina C. 3 , Brandão S. 1 , Azevedo H. 1 , Santos S. 1 , Cadime I. 2 , Cruz J. 4 1 School of Psychology, University of Minho (Portugal) 2 Institute of Education, University of Minho (Portugal) 3 School of Education, Polytechnic Institute of Porto (Portugal) 4 Câmara Municipal de Matosinhos (Portugal) e-mail: fviana@ie.uminho.pt Abstract In 2014, 20% of the 4 th graders had an unsatisfactory evaluation in the national exam of Portuguese language. This percentage is similar in the 6 th and 9 th grades indicating that a large number of Portuguese students have reading difficulties. The e-learning platform “I’m still learning” was developed to provide a systematic intervention with students (from 1 st to 4 th grade) experiencing reading difficulties. This free access platform provides a set of didactic sequences to promote phonological awareness, word reading, reading fluency and comprehension. Informal tasks for reading assessment are also included. In this paper we describe the platform and the theoretical framework adopted in its construction. Keywords: Reading disabilities, assessment, intervention. Introduction 1.1 Reading skills: implications for academic achievement, professional and career development, and civic and social participation Reading skills serve as the foundation to acquire content knowledge in different domains (Lonigan et al., 2009; National Reading Panel, 2000), both in school and throughout life, influencing academic success during children’s school years (Best, Floyd, & Mcnamara, 2008). On a lifelong perspective “poor literacy limits individuals’ capabilities and civic participation, increases poverty, hinders innovation, reduces productivity and holds back economic growth” (European Comission, 2012, p. 21). Therefore the consequences of low literacy are a matter that concerns not just the individual but also the society as a whole. The 2012 report of the European Commission (pp. 23-25) identifies some of the reasons why reading literacy becomes increasingly important: (a) the digital world is centered on the written word; (b) the labour market requires high literacy levels; (c) social and civic participation are more literacy dependent and; (d) living longer requires the ongoing development of skills. The digital world in which children are now born requires better reading skills than in the past decades. Consequently, in the future, adults who are not proficient readers will be at a disadvantage (Torgesen, 2002). An effective intervention on reading difficulties in the early years of reading acquisition is therefore mandatory since this is a critical period in the development of reading skills (Best et al., 2008). Research in the last decades has contributed to characterize reading difficulties, to set guidelines for assessment and intervention and to describe the necessary conditions for an effective intervention (Mathes & Denton, 2002; Torgesen, 2002). Regardless of these developments, some problems persist in ensuring that students with reading difficulties receive the intervention they need. Two important problems are: (a) the large number of children who experience these difficulties and (b) their heterogeneity. All children with reading difficulties require specific and intensive instruction (Scholin & Burns, 2012) and consequently specialized human resources and appropriate didactic materials. In order to overcome these issues, the digital environment is an outstanding tool for working with students with reading disabilities because it provides classroom teachers more support inside and outside the classroom to help struggling readers and it allows reaching a larger number of children (European Commission, 2012). In this article we present a web-based intervention program called “I’m Still Learning” [AEA – Ainda Estou a Aprender] which was constructed to provide teachers with: (a) a theoretical foundation of literacy